Ch356. A date with Temari

Temari and Rei walked side by side through the town, enjoying its bustling atmosphere as they effortlessly melded into the crowd.

Temari seemed excited and giddy while Rei was keeping a cool facade but inwardly, he was resigned and slightly happy. He refused to lie to himself. All that time he spent training the little whiplash next to him did make her close to his heart. If he didn't feel any sort of attachment to her, he would never agree to this... date.

On the other hand, her age was a bit of an obstacle and clearly, Temari was aware of it, making sure to remind him in subtle ways such as through her body language that she didn't care. Hence, the resigned part.

Soon enough, the duo entered a confectionery, deciding to sit down for a bit and talk while enjoying some sweets.

"I still can't believe you actually asked Tsunade for permission to court me as if I was some kind of pet." Rei amusedly chuckled, enjoying how flustered Temari became because of his statement.

When Rei during their light banter jokingly agreed to have a date with her if she managed to persuade Tsunade, she came to their hotel room yesterday and with a deep bow voiced her request to the Senju Princess known for her legendary temper tantrums. Rei had to admit, Temari had balls of steel for that alone.

Needless to say, both Rei and Tsunade were utterly speechless.

"Would it kill you not to bring it up again?" Temari mumbled and cutely pouted, intently focusing on the dessert in front of her and playing with it with her fork, too embarrassed to lift her head. "It's embarrassing."

Rei snickered and reached across the table and affectionately ruffled the girl's hair, "I think it was cute how you blurted out the first thing that popped in your head." He said, making her cheeks color themselves crimson as a small indulging smile appeared on her lips.

Rei and Tsunade totally expected such a situation to occur. Temari was trying to blatantly flirt with Rei during the past few days and Tsunade never once protested. It was a long time coming but the way Temari decided to go about it was still shocking.

"Poor Sasori though." Rei remarked, taking his hand back from Temari's head and causing her to briefly frown at the loss of the intimate feeling. "After your actions yesterday, the man will probably have to face the full brunt of Tsunade's vindictiveness for an entire day."

Yes, Tsunade, with a copious amount of amusement, allowed Temari to 'take Rei out'. She even gave Rei a mirthful glance, knowing his manly pride just took a severe hit because of Temari's wording. It was all in good humor.

That didn't mean deep down she wasn't irritated because of it.

"Should I worry about earning her ire?" Temari slightly widened her eyes at that.

"Nah, she might be annoyed for a bit but fortunately for you, my girls seem to hellbent on making me stop holding myself back because of them, and rather than being angry with you, Tsunade is the kind of person that would respect you for grasping the opportunity when it is available." Rei said.

Granted, if Rei didn't show interest in the girl and she wasn't Pakura's favorite, Tsunade would most likely make her into a pancake with a punch rather than give Temari her blessing. That didn't mean she would not respect her resolve though.

Temari nodded and reached towards Rei's hand, grasping it as she spoke with a sincerity lacing her voice, "I am grateful for that. Lady Pakura told me she could provide me this chance but grasping it is in my own hands." She admitted.

Their date continued peacefully as the two talked about mundane everyday things, opting not to go into heavy and important topics. They rather enjoyed the warm atmosphere between them as they discussed things like Temari's surprising interest in sewing or Rei's distaste for alcohol... which made Temari 'subtly' put her cup of sake she was drinking away, much to Rei's amusement.

They left the confectionery and continued on their walk through the town, visiting many clothing shops but that activity was quickly stopped as they realized neither of them was having all that much fun.

While Temari liked Rei's reaction and his veiled heated look when she tried out a few very good-looking kimonos, she was not one for shopping. She liked action more... or rather, she was more comfortable in the heat of combat rather than doing this girly stuff.

When she awkwardly told that to Rei, he just lifted his eyebrow at her and bought her a pink teddy bear.

She really had no idea how he knew her preferences...

Nevertheless, the date took an unexpected turn after that and the duo found themselves leisurely walking outside of the town where they found a clearing far enough that nobody would disturb them.

It was funny how the date quickly changed into an impromptu lesson on Wind Manipulation and taijutsu. It certainly felt a bit awkward for Rei since neither of his women would say no to a good 'girly' date. Except, Temari looked to be in her element and beaming at him as he helped her to perfect her personal Wind Jutsus.

Rei had to admit, he had fun doing it. He liked to teach. If he didn't, neither Ringo nor Mei would have turned out so well. Unfortunately, his position didn't give him many opportunities for taking students.

Now that he thought about it, Temari was his last 'student' as he taught her Wind Manipulation on Pakura's request and... 'Wait, is this my fetish?' Rei suddenly gained a ground-breaking realization, freezing in the middle of a spar and letting Temari's punch slip past his guard and deck him straight in the middle of his face.

Rei didn't even register as his back hit the ground. He could only stare at the clear sky with wide eyes full of reluctant acceptance and disbelieving shock at this self-enlightenment.

'It would make a twisted kind of total sense! I mean... Mei and Ringo were my official students. I taught Pakura how to better use her bloodline and I would be lying if I said these lessons didn't deepen our relationship. Tsunade might have been a full-fledged kunoichi when we met but it was my meddling that allowed her to develop her Sage Arts to such heights and the less said about Konan the better. If I ignore that I was a kid myself, I basically not only trained and taught the girl but I straight out raised her!' Rei blinked in disbelief. 'Does that make me a degenerate?' He idly wondered.

His eyebrows suddenly furrowed, 'Do I even care?'

Nope... he didn't care. At all.

It was still a very shocking revelation for him though. He briefly wondered if Kaguya also fit into this pattern before he realized that...

'I am currently trying to teach Kaguya manners.' Rei had no idea if that counted.

"Are you okay!?" Temari hurriedly knelt next to Rei who was still lying on the ground with shock written all over his face. "I didn't mean to-, I couldn't stop-, I..." She was clearly panicking, not yet used to sparring with Rei so she had no idea where the boundaries lied.

"Yeah, don't worry. I just had a life-changing concuss-, I mean, realization." Rei quipped with a grin, easing the worried expression of Temari.

Realizing that Rei's bewilderment was not because he was angry at her punching him, she regained her usual confident smirk, "Heh, I am glad that my punches can grant you enlightenment."

Rei just rolled his eyes at her. "Don't get arrogant. Considering the effort it took you to get that one punch in, it would be downright embarrassing if the punch was not enlightenment inducing."

"Looks like one punch was not enough for your full Buddha ascension." Temari quipped with her eyebrow twitching as she raised her fist in a mock-threatening manner. Both she and Rei stared at each other for a moment before chuckling. "So? What kind of secret life truth did you discern from being decked into the face by the little me?" Temari cheekily asked, causing Rei to snort.

She was so unsure and meek at the start of the date, cutely pouting and blushing. Yet now, she quickly eased into her comfort zone when they started training and sparring. She was no longer timid, regaining her usual confident presence and Rei had to admit, she might be fifteen but he found that extremely hot at the moment.

"You really want to know?" Rei gave her a shrewd look and smirked at her in a way that screamed, 'I know something you don't!', causing her to lean closer in curiosity.

"Of course." Temari's smile widened and her eyes narrowed in glee, her heartbeat quickening at the close proximity she was to her long-time crush. "I'd like to know what's so specia-"

She didn't get to finish it as Rei pulled her to the ground and started passionately kissing her.

Rei had his reservations but... Temari was kunoichi. She was an adult the second she received her hitai-ate and her hands were drenched in an ocean of blood. Treating her like a child was never on his to-do list. She wanted to have a relationship with him, fully knowing what it all entailed? Fine by him!

Since that was the case, Rei decided to take her determination seriously and his hands started to slowly undress her. He liked her, she liked him... if she wanted to give herself to him then there was no need to be hesitant about it any longer.

It didn't take long for Temari to come out of her initial shock and start to reciprocate the kissing, delight, and happiness surging deep within her as Rei's hands slowly took off layer after layer of her clothing while her hands also started to slowly undress him.

This was exactly what she wanted. She could see the hesitation in Rei's eyes when she flirted with him in recent days. Now she could see none of it and she would not waste this opportunity!

---

Author Note:

Firstly, I am sorry if the chapter was a bit 'meh'. I was quite tired when writing it.

Next...

Yes, I have previously said I will not expand the harem but I must confess, as a man, I have failed you. Yes, it is sob-worthy and waterfalls of tears are streaming down my cheeks as I write this, yadda, yadda, yadda...

I certainly did not roll my eyes at you. I swear... fingers crossed.

Anyway, I was content with these five girls in Rei's harem and Kaguya on the waiting list for a long while and I was struggling, fighting, wrestling, and raging against my desire to add more for even longer but with this author note, I am officially announcing, I sadly lost this struggle.

My cultural side won.

I know, it is sad but that makes it no less true.

Sorry if this disappointed you as much as it did me.

I am one of those who could not imagine having more than one woman in real life because I would find it extremely bothersome but because of that personal defect of mine, I also can't imagine NOT writing harem for the MC's in my stories because I find it a total waste not to.

They are fanfictions. They are supposed to have harems in them! You can't decide which girl you want as a female lead? Just add all of those you like! It is FICTION for a reason...

No dissing at stories with only one female lead though. I really respect these dudes for having the resolve to pick one girl and stick with her in their stories.

I would be unable to do that. I pick one girl and two days later, I have a deeply-seated urge to pick another after reading some fanfiction that 'promoted' her. It's kinda messed up but it is what it is.

Well, thanks for understanding, and have a nice day.